CALIFORNIA RESEARCH BUREAUCALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARYStudies in the News

California -- One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago

June 1856 - "On June 22, John Durkee of the Committee of Vigilance led a raid on the schooner Julia, and hijacked the muskets aboard, destined for the militia. He took the arms to the Committee’s headquarters on Sacramento Street (in San Francisco).
The Committee of Vigilance headquarters were fortified with sandbags to stop any attacks by state militia.... Cannons were mounted on the roof to forestall bombardment. " http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist6/sherman2.html

June 1856 - "Governor Johnson’s attempt to stop the Committee of Vigilance was cut short when he asked Gen. John E. Wool, commandant of the army at Benecia, for arms to help put down the San Francisco rebellion. The general refused.... There were no arms in the State except what General Wool had, or what were in the hands of the Vigilance Committee of San Francisco.... Major-General Volney E. Howard came to San Francisco soon after; continued the organization of the state militia; and succeeded in getting a few arms from the country." http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist6/sherman2.html

Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the
State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with
state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current
articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

California State Employees may contact the State Information & Reference Center
(916-654-0206;
cslsirc@library.ca.gov) with the SITN issue number and the item number [S#].

All other interested individuals should contact their local library - the items may be available there, or
may be borrowed by your local library on your behalf.

["New estimates show that nearly half of all the unauthorized migrants now living in the United States entered the country legally through a port of entry such
as an airport or a border crossing point where they were subject to inspection by immigration officials. As much as 45% of the total unauthorized migrant population entered the country with visas that allowed them to visit or reside in the U.S. for a limited amount of time.... Another smaller share of the unauthorized migrant population entered the county legally from Mexico using a Border Crossing Card, a document that allows short visits limited to the border region, and then violated the terms of admission."]

["Police in California can search paroled prisoners or their homes without evidence of wrongdoing. The 6-3 decision upheld a 1996 state law that allows searches of parolees without the individual suspicion that is required for other types of searches under the Constitution. The court majority said parolees have no more privacy rights than prisoners, and noted that they agree to be searched at any time upon their release from prison. No other state has such a law, but representatives of 21 states signed written arguments supporting California's position in the case, indicating their interest in considering a similar measure." San Francisco Chronicle (June 20, 2006) B2.]

["During the past 20 years, super-maximum-security prisons have become a common feature of the corrections landscape. Little is known, however, about the goals or unintended effects associated with these prisons. Even less is known about how they achieve particular goals.... Supermax prisons may in fact prove to be an effective corrections management tool, one that is cost-effective and that achieves outcomes that no other approach can. The results of this study suggest otherwise, however." Urban Institute Update (May 18, 2006) 1.]

["Long-term community solutions for arts and culture require a firm foundation of understanding, together with a plan of action that leads to focused results.... A range of issues emerge from this picture. Advocacy and public awareness, arts education, audience development, increased funding and leadership are all identified as issues central to increasing cultural patronage."]

["Subsidies for cotton (which run as high as $4 billion annually) have more impact on global supplies and prices than payments directed at any other crop. Without subsidies, global cotton prices would be as much as 15 percent higher.... Cotton is grown by some of the poorest people on the planet: farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Farmers in California's Central Valley would hardly be affected because they generally grow premium long-fiber Pima cotton, which is not currently eligible for subsidies."]

["This brief looks at the socioeconomic insecurity that Los Angeles faces, focusing on low paying jobs, a declining middle class and entrenched poverty. The brief examines: median wages of the largest growing occupations, the costs of housing and health care in LA, hunger, homelessness, the decline in welfare participation, and general strategies for cities in combating poverty."]

["The Bay Area economy has rebounded from the dot-com collapse, but the region's infrastructure problems and rising costs threaten its ability to attract talented workers. The incredibly high cost of living, especially driven by the high cost of housing, is making it harder and harder for people to continue to live and work here, which means it's harder to attract companies than it was." San Francisco Chronicle (March 24, 2006) 1.]

["California's fourth- and eighth-graders are getting smarter in science, showing the largest achievement gains in the nation, but still scoring well below their peers in other states.... Educators were particularly encouraged by the progress made nationally by minority students, with the gap between white and black fourth-graders narrowing four points since 2000 and between white and Latino students by eight points." Los Angeles Times (May 25, 2006) 1.]

["For several years, students, professors and administrators at UCLA have watched with discouragement as the numbers of black students declined. But the new figures have prompted school leaders to declare the situation a crisis....The demand for reforms follows the disclosure that blacks account for only 96, or 2%, of the more than 4,700 freshmen expected to enroll at
UCLA this fall. That is the lowest level in more than three decades, and gives UCLA a lower percentage of African American freshmen than USC or UC Berkeley." Los Angeles Times (June 3, 2006) 1.]

["Short-term decisions about the University budget are having long-term impacts, and yet we know of no detailed analysis of their long term implications for the University. The report evaluates the long-term
implications of the Higher Education Compact that now defines the basic budgetary relationship between the University and the Governor, as well as those of three other scenarios, varying from one based on a move toward
further major reductions in state funding and increased privatization to one in which state support for the University is returned to the higher level of state support that existed in 1990."]

["Americans prize public library service and see libraries as potential solutions to many communities’ most pressing problems, from universal access to computers to the need for better options for keeping teens safe and productive. But few Americans are aware of the increasingly tenuous financial picture faced by many libraries.... Four areas of opportunity for libraries resonated with the public and leaders alike: 1) providing stronger services for teens, 2) helping address illiteracy and poor reading skills among adults, 3) providing ready access to information about government services, including making public documents and forms readily available and 4) providing even greater access to computers for all."]

["State law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and entrusts it with accrediting teacher preparation programs, credentialing teachers, and monitoring teacher conduct. In this report, we describe
each of these three teacher-quality functions, identify related shortcomings, and propose various recommendations for overcoming them. The recommendations seek to simplify
existing teacher-quality processes, reduce redundancies, strengthen accountability, and foster greater coherence among education reforms. Taken as a package, these recommendations would improve how the state ensures
teacher quality and eliminate the CTC."]

["A court has overturned government rules that made it harder for immigrant doctors to qualify for permanent legal residence by working in inner cities and other areas where medical providers are in short supply.... They said that regulations adopted by immigration officials in 2000 conflicted with a law Congress had passed a year earlier to encourage noncitizen doctors to practice in areas that were designated as medically underserved." San Francisco Chronicle (June 9, 2006) 1.]

["Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of California’s minimum wage since it was last increased in 2002. Some minimum wage proponents advocate 'indexing' the minimum wage to inflation -– automatically adjusting the minimum wage to keep pace with the cost of living. This brief provides an overview of what indexing would mean for California’s minimum wage and how it would work."]

["This article dissects the changes in the labor force participation rate over the past thirty years among women aged twenty-five to fifty-four. Using Current Population Survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the author focuses especially on the unprecedented 2.7 percentage point decline in women’s participation rate between 2000 and 2005. While changes in the observed behavior of educated women and in characteristics such as the number of young children have contributed to the decline, the results suggest that the largest contributors have been unobserved changes.”]

["California drivers paid $132 million more for gasoline this spring than those in other parts of the nation, raising new questions about market manipulation.... California fuel prices have historically been higher than other parts of the nation but price increases generally reflect hikes elsewhere. The magnitude of the jump this spring, however, was not repeated anywhere else.
But state officials said they have not attempted to research the cause of the price increases and have left that question for a report due in August. They did acknowledge that market manipulation could be a factor as well as other issues such as refinery bottlenecks and market influences." San Francisco Chronicle (June 16, 2006) D1.]

Biofuels for Transportation: Global Potential and Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century. By the Worldwatch Institute. (The Institute, Washington, DC) June 2006. 38 p.

["Biofuels have the potential to replace growing amounts of oil, but can cause agricultural and ecological damage if not developed carefully, a report said.... The most problematic and serious risk is of spreading into wild areas and impacting biodiversity.... In addition, growth of biofuels could drive up food prices by diverting crop yields to produce fuel. Traditional ethanol crops, such as corn in the United States and sugar in Brazil, could also increase erosion and deplete aquifers." Reuters (June 8, 2006) 1.]

["Aging school buses continue to spew harmful diesel across the United States, a new report based on federal and state data says, and major funding is needed to address the problem.... California leads the nation in regulatory efforts and funds to replace aging buses but still has made limited progress. State cleanup programs reduced school bus soot by less than 9% from 1999 to 2005. Less than 10% of California's fleet is retrofitted with sophisticated soot-traps, and less than 5% is powered by cleaner natural gas." Los Angeles Times (May 25, 2006) 1.]

["The authors of the most sophisticated analysis of California's water management system say the system should be able to adapt to a warmer climate and a larger population, albeit at a significant cost.... The report suggests that water system managers could adapt to these major changes by changing reservoir and groundwater operations, water allocations (including water markets), water-use efficiency and wastewater reuse. If those strategies were employed, the state would not need major new surface-water reservoirs for water supply." UC Davis News and Information (June 14, 2006) 1.]

["The court set some general limits on the federal government's power to prevent landowners from polluting thousands of marshes, drainage ditches and other wetlands.
But the court's ruling also left the regulatory picture as murky as it was before.... In the middle was Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose opinion -- joined by no other justice -- now becomes the law of the land, the standard for regulating 100 million acres of wetlands. Kennedy said only wetlands that have a 'significant nexus' to navigable waters, such as rivers and lakes, fall within federal authority." San Francisco Chronicle (June 20, 2006) A1.]

["The Department of Homeland Security released fiscal year (FY) 2006 grant allocations for the State Homeland Security Grant Program, the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program, Citizen Corps and the Urban Areas Security Initiative. Funding for most state grant programs was reduced; however, the Citizen Corps program was increased by $5 million from FY 2005 funding levels."]

["As soon as 30 minutes after a large earthquake, terrorist strike or other disaster, San Francisco's emergency medical operations would 'fail catastrophically' and be unable to treat hundreds of severely injured patients. Hospitals would be forced to turn away the wounded and helicopters carrying casualties would be prevented from landing at any of the city's hospitals because none has a functioning landing pad. Those conclusions are contained in a report which has been investigating disaster preparedness at the Department of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Services." San Francisco Chronicle (May 26, 2006) 1.]

Our Reproductive Health and Chemical Exposure: A Review of the Evidence for Links Between Declines in Human Reproductive Health and our Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals. By Michelle Allsopp and others, Greenpeace Research Laboratories. (Greenpeace, Brussels, Belgium) April 2006. 28 p.

["Concerns have been raised regarding declining ratios of boys to girls: From 1970 to 1990, it has been estimated that some 38,000 too few boys were born across the U.S.A. And there's no telling what other long-term effects these chemicals might be causing. They are suspects in a host of problems later in life, including declining sperm counts, increased rates of testicular cancer, early puberty in girls and endometriosis." San Francisco Chronicle (May 17, 2006) 1.]

["This study presents estimates of the cost and coverage impacts of four proposals to expand health insurance coverage in California, with particular emphasis on the effect these approaches would have on children. The four proposals studied are in varying stages of development and are likely to be revised throughout the policy debate."]

Unfair Lending: The Effect of Race and Ethnicity on the Price of Subprime Mortgages. By Debbie Gruenstein Bacian and others, Center for Responsible Lending. (The Center, Oakland, California) May 31, 2006. 52 p.

["Black and Hispanic home buyers entering the fast-growing market for subprime mortgages tend to pay higher interest rates than whites with similar credit ratings, a statistical study by an advocacy group says. The subprime industry makes loans at higher interest rates to people who cannot qualify for regular mortgages.... The study, using federal and industry figures from 2004 to analyze a sample of 50,000 loans, found that among subprime borrowers with similar credit ratings, blacks and Hispanics were 30 percent more likely than whites to be charged the highest interest."]

Department of Social Services: In Rebuilding Its Child Care Program Oversight, the Department Needs to Improve Its Monitoring Efforts and Enforcement Action. By the California State Auditor, Bureau of State Audits. (The Bureau, Sacramento, California) May 2006. 78 p.

["The Department of Social Services, through the child care program in its community care licensing division, is responsible for monitoring licensed child care facilities -- child care centers and family child care homes -- and investigating complaints against those facilities. However, the department has struggled to make required visits to the facilities and carry out its other monitoring responsibilities.... Nevertheless, a question for the State’s decision makers to consider is whether the level of monitoring required by statute, toward which the department is working with its rebuilding effort, is sufficient."]

["The poll indicates that a large majority of drivers with cell phones still talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time, despite knowing that driving and talking on a cell phone at the same time may be dangerous, and that it is safer to use a hands-free device to hold the cell phone. This is especially true of younger adults. Even in states that have laws requiring the use of a hands-free device, many adults are not using such a device." TRB Newsletter (June 7, 2006) 1.]

["The report explores whether there is any difference in the likelihood of derailment or severity of accident consequences resulting from a highway-rail grade crossing collision between a conventional locomotive-led train and a cab car or multiple-unit (MU) locomotive-led train.... Includes the implication of prohibiting or restricting push-pull and MU service." TRB Newsletter (June 27, 2006) 1.]

[The following studies, reports, and documents have been ordered or requested,
but have not yet arrived. Requests may be placed, and copies will be provided
when the material arrives.]

ECONOMY

HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

Cyberstates 2006: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry. By the American Electronics Association. (The Association, Washington, DC) April 2006. 165 p.

["In California, widely considered the epicenter of the U.S. tech industry, job loss slowed. In 2004, high tech lost only 10,600 jobs, compared to a loss of 67,800 jobs in 2003. The report also confirmed that California continued to lead the nation by most high-tech industry metrics. California tech companies reported the largest payrolls of technology employers nationwide, and California tech workers had the highest average wage in the United States." AEA Press Release (April 19, 2006) 1.] Note: Cyberstates ... will be available for loan.